I am a senior at Concord High School in the Brandywine School District. Recently, seniors in BSD received a checklist with details and information about upcoming events such as prom and graduation, but under the 2026 commencement information section it states that Lifetouch Photography will be taking photos of every student as they receive their diploma, which has raised some concerns for multiple students. For those who are unaware, Lifetouch Photography is one of the most prominent school photography companies in the US and is used for many events, from elementary school picture days to high school yearbook photos, but with every photo that is taken by their company, they receive access to every child’s name, school name, grade, age, etc, and when families buy their child’s photos they provide their home address, email, phone number, and payment details, information that is all directly tied to the image of the child and stored long-term for reorders, archives, and future access. Lifetouch does not delete any of the photos or data they’ve been given, meaning they have an updated photo of the child every school year if the school continues to use Lifetouch Photography for pictures. Lifetouch is owned by Shutterfly, which is owned by Apollo Global Management. Apollo’s co-founder, Leon Black, was recently exposed for paying 62.5 million to the US Virgin Islands to resolve claims that were connected to the Epstein files investigation and child trafficking, which are documented in court records. Leon also reportedly paid Epstein around $158 million over several years and eventually stepped down from Apollo due to the allegations, however, Mark Rowan, who took over as CEO for Apollo, also appears in the Epstein Files, which include emails from him arranging meetings and breakfasts with Jeffery across multiple years. Many people are concerned that all of our photos taken over the years could’ve been used as a catalogue for them to pick which children they wanted to target for trafficking. During a graduation ceremony that’s meant to be a happy day for seniors, families, and everyone participating, this should not have to be a concern for anyone. My suggestion as a solution to this issue is to replace Lifetouch Photography with a different photography company for the upcoming commencement ceremony in May, such as local photographers like Kimberly Renee Photography, who has taken photos of each senior at previous BSD graduations, or companies like Legacy Studios that take senior portraits for high school seniors in the Brandywine School District that have no connections to Lifetouch Photography.